Is New Jersey the Best State to Live in America?

We seem to be the butt of many jokes, usually by washed up comedians, but New Jersey takes a beating sometimes from others outside the state. A new survey ranks the best states to live in America.

Get our free mobile app

Some may be surprised by the Wallet Hub findings, but the Garden State ranked first…..yes number one on the list of best places to live in America. For many of us who live here we may say “not surprised” we do have a lot of great reasons to live in New Jersey, but I will also admit many feel the opposite and we have seen many residents leave New Jersey.

Is this a case of “Love/Hate” when it comes to the Garden State? Do most residents fall into one or the other category? I must say I am leaning more to the “love” and it’s been home my whole life. I think we especially live in a beautiful section of the state here at the Jersey Shore…..although there are some “ugly spots” here at the Shore, but for the most part it’s a very nice part of the Nation.

Listen to Shawn Michaels mornings on 92.7 WOBM and download our free 92.7 WOBM app.

A few things that New Jersey ranked high in, included: Education & Health, Safety and Quality of Life. Two areas New Jersey scored poorly ….. Affordability and Economy.

Here are the Top 10 Best States To Live In America (Wallet Hub)

1. New Jersey

2. Massachusetts

3. New York

4. Idaho

5. Minnesota

6. Wisconsin

7. Utah

8. New Hampshire

9. Iowa

10. Pennsylvania

Here is what YOU at home had to say, what YOU “love” about New Jersey:

Debra: The Wildlife

Marianne: Everything

Kathy: the Shore, the people and the parks

Linda: Four seasons

Liz: the food, beach and people

Terry: It will always be home

LOOK: The most popular biblical baby names

To determine the most popular biblical baby names, Stacker consulted the name origin site Behind the Name and the Social Security Administration's baby names database then ranked the top 50 names from Behind the Name's Biblical Names origins list of 564 names, based on how many babies had been given these names in 2019. Click through to find out which biblical names have stood the test of time.

LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.